All That I Need
by YenGirl
Summary: When Cross gets upset at something Zero said, it is Yagari’s turn to comfort him. In turn, his inner fears are soothed and both share an enjoyable moment in the ex-hunter’s office. Yaoi lemon. YagarixCross. COMPLETE.


**Author Notes:** Sorry for not working on TOHOM, my muse for that fic appears to have taken an unexpected vacation this week so here is another one shot instead featuring my second favourite yaoi couple, Touga Yagari and Kaien Cross! It's set a few months after Storm in a Teacup.

This one is from my Hold Me universe so please don't confuse Touga Yagari here with the one in my other fic For the Boy We Love, OK? _–smiles–_ And for those who still remember my Brief Reflections fic, this one shot has a reference to something that happened in the last chapter, let me know if you caught it! :D

**Appreciation:** To **somewhere-there** for putting Kaien Cross into a rose coloured bathrobe in her wonderful From This Day Forward fanfic – it makes for a very cuddly image! :D

**Summary:** When Cross gets upset at something Zero said, it is Yagari's turn to comfort him. In turn, his inner fears are soothed and both share an enjoyable moment in the ex-hunter's office. Yaoi lemon. YagarixCross.

**Rating:** 'M'

**Disclaimer:** Vampire Knight could only and does belong to the great Matsuri Hino.

-- Story Start --

Touga Yagari was sitting at his desk in the Hunter Association Headquarters, swiftly filling out his report. He had returned from a successful hunt not an hour ago where he and a couple of rookie hunters under his command had successfully hunted down and killed two Level Es. Yagari had deliberately held back in order to let the young hunters have their first kill and he was satisfied with how it had turned out.

_Of course, Zero would have done it far quicker and cleaner too, but–_

That last thought pulled Yagari's spirits down a bit. Thinking about Zero usually did but then the one eyed hunter sighed and tried to think of it more positively. Well, it wasn't all that bad, right? Zero wasn't exactly alone in the world now. He had free room and board at Cross Academy and was now completing his final year of school there. Yagari knew how much Chairman Cross adored his two adopted children even if he suspected they found his sometimes motherly and occasionally eccentric behaviour a little trying.

Yagari shook his head and put more focus on the task at hand. He was going to complete his report, hand it in and call it a day. It was actually just after lunch, but he saw no reason to dawdle in the office when there were no new assignments waiting for him. He would much rather go home, have a shower and then crash into bed for a couple of hours. All right, so he would much prefer to go to Cross Academy and spend that couple of hours with its Headmaster but...

The hand holding the pen stilled, the usually cool blue eye took on a pensive look and the supple lips acquired a more downcast twist. Yagari knew how busy Kaien Cross was so he was reluctant to disturb him. After experiencing their first quarrel a couple of few months ago, he found himself being a lot more careful about blurting out the very first thing that popped into his head, especially if he was going to say it to Cross. The two men had made an effort to rearrange their lives to make time for each other and so far, it was going well.

It was surprising enough that they were best friends seeing as how their personalities were almost the exact opposite but it still amazed Yagari that he and the gregarious ex-hunter were lovers as well, since neither of them had ever had any interest in the opposite sex before. It amazed him even more that progress from friends to intimate bed partners had been a lot easier than one would have expected from two hitherto straight men. A slight and somewhat rueful smile now tugged at Yagari's lips. OK, so it helped that he had been dead drunk in Cross' kitchen that night but it also surprised him how well the ex-hunter had taken their relationship in his stride and appeared utterly content with what they had. Yagari couldn't help wondering though, in the strangely pensive mood he was currently in, if well, if his lover wanted _more_.

Like... a female lover, for one thing. To be sure, Cross fussed about cleanliness and bustled about the kitchen (or anywhere else) as much as any woman did – probably more than some women, actually – but perhaps he wanted a partner who would take up that role once in a while?

And what about children? Cross was now in his late thirties but most definitely young enough to start a family of his own. That would be almost impossible as long as he had a male lover since Yagari knew how faithful the ex-hunter was. True, Cross already had two adopted children – Zero and Yuuki – but Yagari supposed (somewhat vaguely at this point) that it wasn't quite the same as bringing your own children into the world and seeing them grow up.

The telephone on his desk chose that moment to announce its presence with its shrill ring and Yagari blinked, brought back to the present with a jerk. He reached for it with his left hand and without skipping a beat started writing again, the pen moving smoothly across the paper.

"Yagari."

There was silence at the end of the line and the small frown that lived almost permanently between the hunter's dark brows deepened a little.

"Hello?" he said suspiciously.

Again, the same silence. Yagari decided that it was a prank call. He was just about to hang up when a soft sniffle made its way over the line and his pen stopped moving at once. There was only one person in the whole wide world who could make a sound like that and have it come out sounding annoying, enticing and utterly adorable all at the same time. And it just so happened to be the same person he was thinking about.

"Kaien," Yagari stated rather than asked, his voice automatically softening a little.

"Touga..." The ex-hunter sounded completely disconsolate and Yagari put down his pen absently, the next few words that he had been about to write having flown clean out of his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked curiously, a slight smile curving his lips despite himself. Perhaps the kitchen tap was leaking? Or perhaps Zero and Yuuki had refused to eat their father's latest culinary concoction again? Or perhaps-

A martyred sigh now floated over the line. "Uhm, it's really nothing..." Cross muttered, an audible hiccough following the vague words. That only made Yagari's smile widen a little more.

"What happened? Did you burn the soup?" he asked, half teasing, half serious. He heard a small, indignant snort and his smile turned into a real grin.

"... wasn't cooking..." The pout in Cross' voice was obvious even through the phone and Yagari sighed soundlessly as his gaze strayed to the paper on his desk.

"All right, what gives, Kaien?"

A louder sigh sounded. "I don't know why I bother, Touga, I really don't!" Another hiccough followed that random declaration and Yagari's frown deepened as he realised it was something a lot more serious than just burnt soup or leaky faucets.

"Bother about what?" he probed, belatedly realising how embarrassingly yet happily domesticated their conversation was starting to sound like. Only it was also like asking Twenty Questions too. Yagari wasn't exactly known for his patience and Cross sighed again as if he had just recalled this fact.

"Never mind, I'm fine," he muttered but the forlorn sniff right after that served to contradict his own words. Yagari continued to look down at his report without seeing it. He had wanted to go over to see Cross earlier, hadn't he? And now that Fate was practically dumping an invitation in his lap, who was he to refuse?

Yagari took up his pen again, his mind already made up. "I'll be over in an hour, OK?" he promised, dotting an 'i' firmly. He would go back to his apartment to shower first and then go straight onto Cross Academy. After what had happened a few months ago, whatever little time they could manage to spend together was a bonus to him.

- o -

When Yagari rang the doorbell of Cross' quarters fifty minutes later, he was greeted by a slightly out of breath Kaien Cross who was even more fresh out of the shower than he was. The ex-hunter was clad in a hurriedly tied and rather damp peach terrycloth bathrobe, his light brown hair hanging in a straight wet curtain down his back. He gave Yagari a small smile but one that reached his eyes and Yagari smiled warmly back at the very appealing sight without even knowing he had. Even his heartbeat had increased without his awareness.

_Damn, Kaien always smells good..._

"Touga," Cross greeted a little breathlessly before stepping back and waving his hand in an absent gesture of welcome. "You're early, I was just finishing up my shower. Well, uhm, you didn't really have to rush over here," he babbled somewhat deprecatingly as if only just realising it was in the middle of the afternoon. Yagari shrugged as he stepped into the living room.

"I'd already decided to call it a day before you rang," he replied easily, looking around even though he knew the place was empty. After all, it was a school day so the two School Prefects should still be in class. Hopefully.

"Did you have your lunch already?" Cross was asking and Yagari nodded. "Yep. I'm fine," he answered briefly. The ex-hunter nodded at that and started walking towards the short hallway leading off from the living room where his office and bedroom were.

"Let's go to my study," he called and Yagari followed, enjoying the familiar fragrance of soap Cross used. The former was expecting the latter to sit on the leather sofa that stood against one wall of the study but Cross ignored it and walked over to his desk instead. He stopped by its side and let his finger trace an invisible pattern on the polished wooden surface, his head low enough to cause a few strands of damp hair to obscure his face. The slender, almost delicate shoulders under that soft robe had a forlorn slump to them and Yagari neared Cross, suddenly anxious to know what his lover so upset.

"Kaien, what happened?"

Cross looked up and even with his spectacles on and the curtains mostly drawn to block out the bright afternoon sun, Yagari could still see the moisture shimmering in those soft brown eyes.

"I... well, I...." Cross floundered a bit and then he exhaled shakily. "Uhm, hold me first, Touga?" His voice quivered just a bit on the hunter's name and as usual, it melted Yagari's heart right onto the wooden floor. He growled out a soft curse and swiftly wrapped his arms around Cross.

"You don't have to ask twice," he said huskily as he pressed the shorter man's face into his shoulder and dipped his head to kiss the freshly shampooed hair.

- o -

_Some time later..._

Cross sighed as he shifted a little but let his left cheek remain on the most comfortable spot on Yagari's right shoulder. They were now sitting down in the large leather chair behind the desk. Or rather, Yagari was sitting in the chair with Cross curled up on his lap. The ex-hunter's spectacles were now lying on a corner of his desk and he found himself staring slightly cross eyed at the second button on his lover's faded square checked cotton shirt.

"Sorry, I'm just being silly," he mumbled in a half pouting tone that only succeeded in melting Yagari's heart even further.

"Why do you say that?" the one eyed hunter murmured absently as he let the straight brown hair slide through his fingers. Honestly, the damp strands were finer than silk the way they tended to catch on the rough skin of his calloused fingertips...

Cross shifted again, as if torn between wanting to tell him why and wanting to keep it a secret. Again, Yagari found himself waiting with unusual patience as a knowing smile quirked on his lips. He knew his lover would spit it out if he waited long enough and Yagari was right.

"It's nothing! But apparently, I'm nothing but a – a nuisance and a - a _busybody_!" Cross finally blurted out. That miffed declaration was followed up with a wounded sniff and Yagari's lips quickly lost its smile.

_Kaien Cross a nuisance and a busybody?_

That was like saying Touga Yagari was a well known and respected vampire hunter who was as famous for his efficient and ruthless hunting of Level Es as he was for his brusque manners and sardonic remarks.

But since he was also nothing but sentimental mush on the inside when it came to one Kaien Cross - an equally well known and respected ex-hunter - Yagari supposed that there were two sides to everything. He was well aware of who Cross was talking about; it had to be a particular teenager who sported a large taming tattoo on the left side of his neck. Yagari also knew why his ex-student might label the Headmaster with those two degrading words but there was so much more to Cross than just someone who loved meddling in other people's affairs.

Yagari pressed his lips to the brown hair once more, his keen hearing picking up on the fact that Cross was actually waiting for his reply with bated breath. There was more than a hint of a pout adorning his trembling lips so Yagari also knew it was clearly not the 'nothing' the latter was trying to convey, just as how he knew Cross was hoping he would refute the words 'nuisance' and 'busybody'. But to deny them would not be the right thing to do when Yagari had always appreciated Cross' innate honesty as much as he had admired the clear transparency in those soft brown eyes and the open generosity in that loving, giving heart. Yagari wanted to reciprocate with tender kindness as his lover so deserved but he wanted to be honest in doing it. To be otherwise would only serve the ex-hunter a grave injustice.

"Who said that?" Yagari asked first even though he already knew it had to be Zero – who _else_ would dare to label Kaien Cross thus? The Headmaster exhaled in a disappointed kind of way and to placate him a little, Yagari mouthed the top of a delicately shaped ear before sucking on the flushed skin as he waited for an answer.

"Ze-Zero..." Cross' voice hitched at the feel of those warmly skilled lips but he sounded more despondent than ever and Yagari frowned thoughtfully, his mouth still working its silent magic. He knew there was no love lost between Zero Kiryuu and Kaien Cross but no... that wasn't quite true. Cross did genuinely love his adopted son, even if the latter chose not to see it. All the same Yagari conceded that the former's eccentric and sometimes overly cheerful behaviour took some getting used to, especially to a young and promising hunter turned angry and distrustful vampire who knew he was living on borrowed time.

Still, it was hard to remain immune to Cross' obvious and real distress and Yagari wondered what to say. The last thing he wanted to do was rub salt in the wound especially when he still harboured a lingering sense of guilt for the devastating words he had thrown at the ex-hunter a few months ago. In other words, Yagari felt he had no right to condemn or support Zero when he himself had hurt Cross in the past.

_So don't speak for others, man. Speak for yourself..._

And as those words entered his mind, Yagari suddenly knew what to say. For someone who was usually direct and succinct to the point of being rude, he had hit upon the right combination of words that would be honest and comforting to the man curled up so perfectly in his lap with his head pillowed so comfortably on his shoulder. Yagari only prayed the words would come out sounding the way he meant them to.

"A nuisance and a busybody, Kaien?" he now drawled in slow, deliberate tones as he tilted his head lower so that he could glide his lips over a damp, smooth cheek. "Guess you are that. And you know it, don't you?"

Cross stiffened immediately, as Yagari knew he would. "I am?" the former asked, obvious hurt in his voice. He tried to sit up straighter but the strong, muscled arm around his waist tightened at once and Yagari could feel mortified heat spread tellingly through the cheek his lips were pressed against. He chuckled and pressed another kiss onto the warmed skin, earning an embarrassed fidget from its owner.

"Yup, you are," Yagari elaborated blandly. Cross made another attempt to escape and Yagari chuckled again, the low, rich sound making goose bumps of pure awareness break out on the other man's skin despite his injured pride.

"Settle down, Kaien. I don't know about Zero but I'm actually glad you're a nuisance _and_ a busybody," Yagari finally admitted, deliberately pitching his voice low enough to make the words sound more like an erotic admission than a mere statement. Again, as he had known it would, Cross' head swung around and surprised brown eyes scrutinised his face.

"You are?" he murmured, now looking extremely confused. Yagari had _never_ before given the impression that he enjoyed his lover's persistence in continually straightening up his apartment and the constant nagging to give up on smoking. It was tolerance at best...

Yagari nodded solemnly without a hint of a smile now and Cross sucked in a disbelieving breath as the hunter held his surprised gaze.

"If it weren't for you being a nuisance, Kaien, I would still be wallowing in self-pity over my lost eye and wearing that hard eye patch, hiding from everyone. If it weren't for you being a busybody, I would probably be fired from the Association by now, a useless and lonely drunkard that nobody cares about," Yagari confessed huskily.

Expected but welcome moisture filled Cross' eyes at those words and his lover smiled crookedly, his remaining eye displaying an emotion that ran far deeper than mere affection.

"But I'm not. I'm happier now than I ever was before. I had lost a part of my ability and was afraid it would impair my career, the one thing I was good at. I had lost the person whom I thought loved me enough to accept my scars and I was all alone in the world. But I got back my confidence and I found love... all because _someone_ was both a nuisance and a busybody to me."

Cross' quivering lips parted in wonder and a tear escaped from one of his brimming eyes. It made its way down a deliciously flushed cheek and Yagari's chest tightened with emotion as he tracked its passage silently. He swallowed and continued speaking, his voice noticeably lower and huskier than before.

"If it weren't for you being a nuisance, Kaien, this school of yours wouldn't exist. If it weren't for you being a busybody, Zero would have been alone and unloved. He might even have perished long before now, hating both the world and himself," Yagari continued, ignoring the sour guilt in his heart as he looked deep into the brimming, soft eyes that were now fixed on him as if nothing else existed in the world.

"Instead, Zero has a family and a home, an education and a father who cares for him. He's lucky and he knows it."

A second tear escaped the other eye and then another. Cross sniffled before wiping his face on the sleeve of his bathrobe, looking embarrassedly flushed and pleased beyond reason. Yagari's intent gaze then turned incredibly, wonderfully tender for someone who stalked and killed his prey for a living.

"Deep down, I'm sure Zero is as grateful as I am that you came into our lives, Kaien. Give him time. I'm sure he'll come around."

To be honest, Yagari also wanted to add that it would probably help to win Zero's affections if Cross also toned down that 'silly, scatterbrained' persona he adopted from time to time but this wasn't the ideal time to say that...

Cross smiled shakily and gave a quick, impulsive nod, rubbing his sleeve over his moist eyes again.

"I - I just want him to see me as his father, T-Touga... the way Y-Yuuki does..." And with that dear, paternal wish finally voiced out somewhat incoherently, Cross shuddered and broke down completely. Yagari's heart gave an almost painful squeeze as he gathered his lover close with another fervent curse. Damn, this man was now so unbelievably precious to him... Yagari would do anything, anything at all to soothe his hurts, imagined or otherwise.

He had hurt this man once too... but now he knew he would never do it again. He would protect him from all evils if he could. Not because he thought that Kaien Cross was not strong enough to handle them on his own – he was – but because Yagari _wanted_ to. He wanted to protect and care for this man with everything he had.

- o -

_Almost an hour later..._

The storm of tears had passed. It was a long one too, making Yagari suspect that Cross had bottled up more than just the hurt over his adopted son's rejection of his efforts. Both men were still sitting in the same chair with Yagari once again absently stroking the other's hair. It felt genuinely good to hold his lover like this and the way Cross was now quietly curled up on his lap now made Yagari recall his other thoughts earlier, while he was still in the Association.

Yagari knew he loved women. There was something so very intrinsically... feminine in how they were fashioned – how they looked, how they felt, how they dressed. But the funny thing was, he found that he didn't really miss female company anymore despite having a male lover. Yagari couldn't help wondering if it was because of Kaien Cross' fondness for cooking, for frilly aprons in pastel colours and his penchant for cleanliness. It wasn't that the ex-hunter was effeminate - he was strong, capable and very much a male. Yagari should know – he had been intimately claimed by Cross as many times as he had claimed the other. In fact, the balance actually tipped in the ex-hunter's favour when it came to such enjoyable bedroom activities.

But Cross' physical outlook also contained certain attributes that Yagari found unexpectedly appealing rather than repelling... such as the impossible silkiness of his hair, the vulnerable honesty of his eyes, how the man just seemed so darned _cuddly _and _touchable_ most of the time. Yagari could also swear that his lover's skin was as soft as any female he had dated in the past.

So Cross wasn't a woman and didn't have ah... uhm... breasts, for example – well, so what? He still had those soft, rosy pink nipples that would pucker at the slightest provocation whether visual or sensory and the hunter delighted in encouraging that as much as possible. Unfortunately for Cross though, Yagari didn't have any such enticing attributes for him to enjoy in return. After all, the ex-hunter had been a lady killer in the past but now he was stuck with a man - a scarred, one eyed hunter to boot. Who loved wearing... er, boots.

With that thought in mind, Yagari was suddenly anxious to find out if Cross really was as content as he appeared to be. Fighting a sudden wave of trepidation, he opened his mouth before he could change his mind.

"Hey, Kaien?"

Cross smothered a yawn with the back of one hand. He was very comfortable where he was and feeling a little sleepy after that embarrassing show of waterworks that had left him with reddened eyes, a pink nose, a somewhat scratchy throat, a pile of used tissues and a likely loss of respect from Yagari. Still, Cross decided somewhat muzzily that while he should be embarrassed that the one eyed hunter had witnessed it all, the fact that he was also his lover mitigated that issue almost equally. More importantly, Yagari was very nice to lean against, being all broad shouldered and well muscled with that comforting scent of cigarette smoke and leather about him.

"Hmm?" Cross murmured drowsily.

"Do you miss going out with women?" came the sudden question spoken with Yagari's usual forthrightness. Cross looked up sharply, his tear wet eyes startled and his eyebrows well raised.

"What?"

Yagari shrugged a little uncomfortably. "Well, do you?" he asked, sounding a bit unsure now.

Cross continued to goggle at him and Yagari shrugged again. "I was just wondering," he replied off handedly, "whether you missed having a female as your... other half. That's all," he finished, sounding a lot more awkward than he had earlier. His explanation caused the other man's eyebrows to lower to their normal position and his puzzled frown to ease up but he shook his head at once. The decisive action sent warm relief flooding through Yagari but made him curious instead.

"Why not, Kaien?" he asked.

"Because I've got you!" came the immediate answer even if it still sounded puzzled. Unfortunately, that only made Yagari fidget a little.

"Yeah, but I'm not a woman!" he blurted out and gave a sudden scowl at how that had sounded. Cross couldn't help a sudden, mischievous grin at his lover's obvious chagrin.

"I know," he said a little dryly. The very meaningful tone in his voice made something twitch to life inside the front of Yagari's tight fitting jeans and he resisted the instinctive urge to shift his hips.

"But who says you have to be one, anyway?" Cross added, still sounding a little puzzled.

Yagari could see that the ex-hunter didn't understand what he was trying to get at. He wondered if he should just stop this pointless dialog before it got anymore embarrassing for him but sheer stubbornness refused to let him stop.

"Crap... Well, I'm not soft or feminine - that's what I mean. I don't have curves or a sweet smell - you know, _girly_ things."

"Oh." Cross nodded in belated understanding and he frowned thoughtfully as he gave the matter due consideration. Yagari tensed up, feeling even more foolish at having brought this topic up in the first place.

"Look, just forget it, OK?"

"Wait, Touga..."

"No, it's fine. Pretend I never said anything ab-"

"Wait! Actually, you - you do..."

_What?!_

If Yagari didn't have a solid paperweight sitting in his lap, namely one earnest looking Kaien Cross, he might have actually fallen off the chair in shock. What the hell did he mean by that – that he smelled sweet or that he had curves?

_Curves?! Hell...!_

Yagari wasn't sure which he would have preferred _less_ – either one was equally mortifying to him. And if the answer was both, then he was going to leave _right now_.

"I beg your pardon!" he growled in a deep, offended tone. "I do not!"

Yagari actually had half a mind to tip Cross out of his lap so that he could unzip his jeans and show off his package. He would show Cross _curves_. Hell, probably even take him right on his unbelievably tidy desk to show that he knew how to use what he had, too...

Cross sighed and gave his annoyed partner a patient look. "I didn't mean in the soft curves _or_ sweet smell department, OK, Touga? Calm down..."

Yagari grunted as he relaxed back in the chair. "Well, what did you mean then?" he asked curiously. Cross shrugged but the small and playful smile dancing at the corners of his lips prevented his lover from relaxing any further.

"For one thing, you cook well, Touga," Cross started. As the taller man opened his mouth to argue, the ex-hunter quickly added, "I know – I'm probably biased and anyway, the best chefs in the world are men. But other than that, I think your hair's nice to touch, too," he explained in that disarmingly honest way of his, reaching up to twine a dark, shiny curl around a finger to emphasise his point.

Yagari gave as manly a non-committal grunt as he could to hide the fact that he was pleased. _Ridiculously_ pleased in fact, if the sudden flush on his lean, scarred face was anything to go by.

"Humph," he muttered. "Your hair's lots softer than mine..."

Cross' smile widened at that and Yagari wanted to melt into the chair and kiss his best friend and lover soundly at the same time.

"But I like touching _your_ hair, Touga, n–not mine," Cross countered softly, stumbling over a leftover hiccough right after speaking the other's name. For that adorable sound alone, Yagari could have kissed his lover senseless. He settled for pressing his lips against the silky brown hair instead.

"Is that all, Kaien?" he murmured playfully, all his previous doubts and indignation forgotten in a sudden, warm rush of delightfully uncharacteristic playfulness. "In that case, I would say that _you_ have more - ah, feminine attributes than me!" He grinned as Cross' mouth fell open.

"In what way?" asked the ex-hunter, sounding indignant and even a little flustered. "I don't have _breasts!_"

It was sheer coincidence that he mentioned the same female body part that Yagari himself had been thinking of earlier. The latter let out a sudden shout of laughter, making Cross even more flustered than before. With a righteous huff, he tried to scramble down from his lover's lap but the strong arm around his waist halted his undignified escape. Still chuckling, Yagari placed his lips at the other's warmly flushed ear.

"Ah no, not breasts," he whispered teasingly. "But your nipples are just as soft and responsive as any woman's..."

As he spoke, his other hand slipped between the front panels of the still bathrobe. Cross' breathing lost its even rhythm as familiar, work roughened fingertips found one such nipple and teased its softness away.

"I... I do?" he asked breathlessly, looking up with wide eyes. Yagari nodded as his questing fingers found the other, already erect nipple and plucked at it, making Cross shift about on his lap and bite back a groan.

"You do," Yagari confirmed. Reluctantly, he slipped his hand out of the bathrobe and combed long, lean fingers through the mane of straight brown hair again.

"And your hair looks and feels just like silk, Kaien," he murmured in dark, just as silky tones, calculated to fluster and seduce. Cross immediately sat up a little straighter and shook his hair back as if he knew what his lover was about.

"Thank you," he answered primly but blinked when he saw the single minded intent in Yagari's single blue eye.

"It always smells so sweet to me," the hunter confessed in a low, sexy growl. Cross sagged against his chest at once, his heart quickening its pace as he felt something throb under his thigh. Yagari knew he was hard and realised his lover had felt it too. He lost no time in brushing the brown hair from the back of Cross' neck before sucking hard on the soft, fragrant skin, making the other man shiver helplessly.

"And your skin always feels so soft," Yagari whispered in a low, positively wicked tone. His hand slipped down again but this time, it glided under the hem of the knee length bathrobe. Cross found his legs parting without his express consent and he shook his head at such easy capitulation.

"It does?" he whispered as his head fell back against the other's broad shoulder, eyes closing. The same roughened fingertips now started to draw shiveringly light circles on his inner right knee. The calloused skin only made the sensations more pleasurable and Cross moaned softly as blood rushed to pool in his groin.

"It does indeed," came the wicked whisper in his ear. With another moan, Cross' legs parted even further until he was straddling his lover's knees, his back pressed against the other's chest. The feather light circling touch had gone to the back of his right knee, making both legs tremble in response.

"All over..." Yagari clarified and Cross shuddered helplessly at the erotic tone and the almost ticklish sensation on his skin that had him squirming in pleasure.

"I feel the softness of your skin here against my hips each time I take you," Yagari added, his whisper almost unrecognisable with lust as his fingers returned to the inner skin of his lover's knee. A hitching moan was his only reply and he smiled to himself. When Yagari finally parted the lower folds of the bathrobe, he wasn't at all surprised to see something standing erect, rosily flushed and begging for attention.

In fact, Cross himself was trembling in his arms, practically begging to be taken...

_Oh, what the heck!_

Yagari decided that he was going to take his quivering and aroused lover right here and now. With that lusty thought in mind obliterating all other more rational ones, he shifted Cross bodily onto his left thigh before tearing open his jeans one handed. His own manhood practically sprang out as soon as he had pulled it out from his underwear. The tip was already wet and Yagari swiftly moistened his fingertips with the clear, slippery liquid.

"Put your right foot up on the desk, Kaien," he murmured huskily. The hazy brown eyes blinked open and Cross gulped as he shot an involuntary look at the closed but not locked door of his study.

"Wh-what? H-here?" he quavered, his face flushing hotly.

"Yup."

"But Touga... uhm... the – the door!"

Cross swallowed again. He was obviously torn between propriety and desire but a knowing finger rubbed the head of his arousal right then and there and he gave in with a quivering sigh of surrender. He blushed deeply and shot another nervous look at the door but did as Yagari requested. Cross knew his raised leg would expose his most intimate parts for his partner since he was now only balanced on his left buttock. His fingers clenched on the nearest edge of his desk as a moist finger pushed slowly into him. It slid in and out a dozen times or so, going deeper each time. Cross had started to pant softly and he unconsciously lifted his right leg higher as another finger slowly worked itself into his tight depths to join the first.

Yagari always prepped faster than Cross did but the one eyed hunter was just as careful to watch his lover's reaction. He was fast but he was never deliberately rough. Once his two fingers were in, Yagari started to scissor them, moving gently at first until the grimace on Cross' face eased up before he repeated the movements a little more insistently, curling and twisting his fingers at the same time to make it less painful and more pleasurable for his lover.

Cross' shallow pants increased in both speed and volume and his grip on the table tightened. Automatically, he found himself leaning more towards his left and even stretching his right leg a little further away from himself, making it easier for Yagari to prep him. Those strong, knowing fingers inside him felt good... _really_ good. The bathrobe was half pulled askew by now and Cross' erection was exposed and at full stretch, droplet after droplet of clear liquid beading on the slit and slowly dripping down its rigid length.

As soon as Yagari saw the mouthwatering sight, he withdrew his fingers and closed a determined fist around his partner's arousal. A few quick pumps made more liquid dew up and caused its owner to give a stifled groan. Yagari grunted in satisfaction as he coated his fingertips with the liquid before returning to his prepping, moving deeper and easier now with the additional lubrication. His left hand was curled around Cross' chest and his fingers slipped into the bathrobe again, teasing the erect nipples more insistently.

Cross gave another shaky groan as he pressed his head back and rocked his hips down onto those fingers, causing the terrycloth material of his robe to rub against Yagari's arousal. With a muttered curse, the hunter gritted his teeth and added a third finger. He was already very hard and aching to bury himself inside his lover and Cross' mouth fell open as he gave a short, pained gasp at the sudden stretch.

"Sorry..."

With that mumbled apology, Yagari forced himself to ease up, moving slower and working short, breathy gasps from Cross that made the hunter smile in anticipation, his eye dark with desire and his heart thundering away in his chest. The wait, short as it was, was already more than he could bear and deeming his lover stretched enough, Yagari pulled his moist fingers out. He clamped both hands around Cross' trim waist and with a breathless curse of anticipation, settled the ex-hunter on top of his hard and eagerly twitching rod.

With an answering moan, Cross' right foot slipped off the desk and his trembling legs straddled his lover again. He leaned forward a little, fingers clenched tightly onto a pair of jean clad thighs as he was slowly but surely lowered onto Yagari. His body had already been prepped but it still hurt at first so he breathed carefully through parted lips, knowing that Yagari sometimes entered him a little too fast.

Surprisingly though, that wasn't the case this time. Perhaps it was because of the emotional conversation earlier or the teasing one after that but Yagari was unexpectedly gentle and at first, he only shifted in the chair, rubbing the wet head of his arousal against his lover's moistened entrance. It was only when Cross gave a sudden and involuntary shiver of pure need that Yagari started pulling him down upon his length.

The joining took place inch by inch, heartbeat by heartbeat... Unconsciously, both men held their breaths with closed eyes and parted lips as one sought entry and the other gave it. Yagari groaned aloud as he slowly sheathed himself inside the other's pulsing, moist heat, trying not to get undone at the same time.

It didn't really matter anymore that to the world at large, they were an odd or unusual pair. It didn't matter that one of them was a believer and the other a sceptic. It wasn't important that one chose to see only the good in others while the other was the exact opposite. The only thing that mattered was that as impossible as it may seem, they were a perfect match for each other.

In mood and in temperament...

In opposing habits and even more opposing beliefs...

And in making love to one another when they lost themselves to that sweet, fulfilling passion, especially in that beautiful half minute or so when their bodies slowly merged in the most intimate way possible. At length, Yagari had buried himself as far inside his lover as he could and he paused to let their bodies adjust but their hearts simply raced on, making both bodies throb impatiently for release.

"Kaien...?" Yagari asked softly and Cross nodded quickly. "Y-yes, Touga," he gasped. "Move, please!"

Yagari's only reply was to tighten his large hands around Cross' waist. He inhaled deeply and the muscles in his biceps bunched as he exerted himself, raising the other man up and down over his erection. Cross uttered a strangled moan as he quickly closed his hands over Yagari's strong wrists, knees trying to clamp over his lover's knees without success.

_Dear God...!_

Cross was utterly helpless in this position and he knew it. His feet weren't touching the floor at this point and he was completely at Yagari's mercy, unable to control the speed or depth of the other man's penetration. All Cross could to was grip his lover's wrists and hang on for dear life. All he could hear over the pounding of his own heart was Yagari's harsh breathing behind him as short, fast bursts of warm air exploded between his shoulder blades. All he could feel was that incredibly hard, pulsing staff pushing deep into him again and again and again...

"T-Touga...!" Cross threw his head back, eyes still squeezed shut as Yagari lowered him and thrust his hips up at the same time, taking him as deep as was physically possible. Cross shuddered almost violently. He couldn't recall if Yagari had ever gone this deep but dear God, it was amazing... simply _amazing_.

"More, please...!" Cross pleaded, writhing about as much as he could while being held in place. The tension inside his body was fast building up to almost unbearable levels and he craved the sweet burst of release that would follow. Yagari grunted in effort, biceps already starting to tremble with strain as he raised and lowered his helpless lover onto his erection for the dozenth time. Yagari cursed inwardly - he couldn't do this fast enough to satisfy Cross nor himself and his body was on fire. The moist and erotic friction of their joining only served to frustrate him and his body was crying out for more.

"Hang on, Kaien..." With a suddenness that caught Cross unawares, Yagari swiftly wrapped his arms around his lover instead - one going around his chest, the other around his waist. Planting his booted feet firmly apart and hissing in his breath, Yagari then stood up, careful to keep himself deeply buried inside the pulsing heat of his lover's body. In the position they were in, Cross naturally fell forward and the perspiring palms of his hands slid along the polished surface of his desk, causing him to half fall, half sprawl onto it. The change in angle made for a very erotic shifting of Yagari inside him and both men groaned aloud at the sensations it caused.

With their obvious disparity in height, Yagari had to quickly widen his stance to bring their hips to a more similar height but his jeans were restricting him. He bent his knees and with some desperate maneuvering, managed to push his pants down far enough to kick one leg free of them, the jerky, contained movements pulling another groan from his partner. Panting hard, Yagari then leaned forward and held onto Cross' pale shoulders for balance before drawing back to give an experimental thrust.

Cross gasped again. Being taken right on his desk in his own study was a novel and thrilling experience and he gripped the far edge of his desk with both hands as Yagari started pleasuring him with faster, deeper strokes, his length stretching Cross with passionate intent and its head brushing against some deliciously sensitive spots inside of him.

"Ooh...! More, Touga, more...!" Cross pleaded breathlessly and Yagari complied at once, dealing faster and deeper strokes that pinned the other's hips ruthlessly to the desk. With the bathrobe seriously askew and exposing more than it concealed, each push of Yagari's hips caused Cross' arousal to rub exotically against the rounded edge of the desk and he moaned as the coil of tension inside him tightened a little with each thrust. It was only a matter of time before he erupted with bliss and Cross shuddered as his body jerked in time to Yagari's hard and sure strokes.

Cross felt Yagari's warm chest on his back and turned his head sideways, thrusting his hips back at the same time. Their lips met in a scorching kiss and Yagari finally broke it to kiss his way downwards, sucking a few more love bites into existence on the back of his lover's pale, glowing neck. The soft, gasping shudders coming from Cross were immensely satisfying and Yagari took him even harder now, exulting inwardly when Cross cried out as the increased friction on his arousal and within his body threatened to tear him apart.

"T-Touga!" he cried out a minute later, almost screaming with joy as he finally exploded in bliss, the angle of his trapped length causing some of his milky essence to splash onto his thigh and the rest elsewhere. Yagari increased the speed of his thrusts as he felt his lover's fierce convulsions squeeze his erection and with an exultant shout that rang around the room, he released his own passion deep inside his lover's shivering body, thrusting into him even harder as he rode out the intense sensations ripping through him.

They both collapsed onto the desk after that, gasping for breath as their bodies glowed and pulsed with intense pleasure. It was a long, long moment later before Yagari moved, pulling out of his lover before straightening up with a satisfied sigh.

"Hey Kaien, you OK?" he asked in sudden concern as the other man only gave a groan but remained prone on his desk.

"'m fine," Cross mumbled with his eyes closed, his left cheek pressed against the desk and his hair spread out messily on the polished surface. Now that the heat of passion was over, his more rational half was asserting itself and Cross groaned in mortification as he remembered where he was.

"Here, get up..." Gentle hands pulled him upright and Cross put his weight on still shaky legs, wincing as a familiar, sharp pain made itself known. He glanced down and froze.

"Aaiiiee!!" he shrieked a second later, having caught sight of an even more familiar liquid dripping off the edge of his desk. Pain momentarily forgotten, he quickly lunged for the tissue box at the far corner of his desk and started wiping off the evidence with a brightly flushed face.

"What're you screaming at?" Yagari frowned at him absently as he pulled on the other leg of his jeans and tucked in his shirt before doing up the zipper. Cross glared at him heatedly, the soggy tissues clenched in one fist.

"You couldn't wait until we got to my bedroom, could you?" he accused. "What if someone had come looking for me?!" Cross paled at the thought before flushing even more rosily.

_I might have to close down Cross Academy and migrate elsewhere... uhm, preferably to another planet..._

Yagari only shrugged lazily at his lover's predictable reaction. "I didn't hear you complaining a few minutes ago," he drawled with a meaningful smile that made Cross' heart falter before beating again with unforgivable interest. His stormy gaze faltered and he quickly turned back to the desk, snatching more tissues from the box and rubbing insistently at the same spot on his desk even though it was devoid of any residue by now.

"You think you know everything, don't you?" he huffed under his breath as he started cleaning up the same substance from his thigh, his cheeks still a vivid pink. "Stubborn jackass," he added under his breath. Yagari's smile widened. Seeing Cross in a flustered state like this and after sex always put him in a good mood, especially if he was the one who had caused it.

"Fussy old coot," he murmured in return but it was the melting tenderness in his voice rather than the words themselves that made Cross pause before he looked up, caught despite himself.

Yagari winked at him. "'Fess up, Kaien, you loved it," he drawled and Cross glared at him before turning away without bothering to reply. He started straightening his robe and squeaked in surprise as he was hauled backwards against a muscled chest a few seconds later.

"You OK? Does it hurt a lot?" Yagari asked and this time, his voice was genuinely concerned without a hint of laughter. Cross sighed and shook his head in defeat before he turned around in the other's arms.

"It's OK, Touga, I'm fine," Cross answered truthfully. In actual truth, the almost rough sex had released a slew of feel good endorphins. Combined with Yagari's unbelievably tender words earlier, both had done wonders for his heart and soul. Really now, what was a little soreness compared to feeling on top of the world?

"Are you sure?" Yagari whispered. Cross could see a shadow of vulnerability in his lover's eye and it touched his heart deeply. Yagari may act all brash and brusque but under that prickly exterior beat a warm and vulnerable heart that cared. A whole lot if the hunter's earlier words were anything to go by... Cross treasured this wonderful man in his arms, more now than ever before. He quickly pressed his lips to Yagari's and the sweet kiss than ensued reassured the hunter even before his lover spoke.

"I'm sure, Touga," Cross murmured a long moment later. "In fact, I'm glad you came by."

_I'm glad you love me the way I am, nuisance and all..._

Yagari embraced him again. "So am I, Kaien. So am I."

_I'm glad that I've finally and truly atoned for my tactless behaviour that last time..._

-- Story End --


End file.
